FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001 ] The invention relates to oils which are used for jute processing and in particular to
a composition of eco-friendly oil for jute batching application.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
[002] In the jute industry, different oils are being used for treating jute and to make it
suitable for easy processing. Specifically for jute batching, different Jute Batching Oils (JBO) are available in the prior art. These JBOs are sold by the oil companies. These are required to be mixed with additives known as emulsifiers, which are to be separately procured from other sources. Before application, JBO is to be first mixed with the emulsifier, then water is to be added to prepare an oil-in-water emulsion. This emulsion is sprayed onto raw jute for jute batching operation. The emulsion is adsorbed by jute and softens it for further processing to get required quality of jute fibers that are necessary for the manufacture of different jute products. The proportion of oil in the emulsion needs to be varied to achieve the desired finish of the jute fiber.
[003] Currently about 33000 MT of jute batching oil is being consumed for making of
jute fibers and various other jute products in India only. A large quantity of the finished jute fiber
is exported to the European and other countries. Indian Jute industry is exploring the use Poly
Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) free jute batching oils to meet the European Union
requirements. It is expected that demand for environmental friendly jute batching oil like
composition of eco friendly oil for jute batching application will grow over a period of time.
[004] However, currently available JBO contains PAHs, the compounds which are
reported to be carcinogenic in nature. Today, a typical jute batching oil currently available contains compounds with more than 3-ring poly aromatic hydrocarbons, which may lead to carcinogenic activity and skin cancer. The workers in the jute processing industries are also exposed to this risk.
[005] Another factor to be considered is that some amount of JBO is retained by the
finished jute product. The most common such product today is jute bags, which are abundantly used for storage and transportation of food grains and food items. During this process, there is

great risk of contamination of food items with PAH compounds. Thereby, the public at large too is exposed to the carcinogenic effects of PAH compounds.
[006] As per estimates about 2.01 MMT (2006-07) of jute is produced in India and
about 20% percent of it is exported. It is expected that newly developed PAH free composition of eco friendly oil for jute batching application will particularly help export oriented units in producing good quality jute fiber meeting the international and European standards / norms. Based on the export of jute items, the estimated potential of environmental friendly jute batching oil is approximately >6000 MT/year.
[007] The JBO as well as the emulsifier presently available used ese largely set have
low bio-degradability. This makes the currently used JBO significantly less emulsion non
environment-friendly. Also, since the emulsion of JBO is prepared first by mixing it with JBO
a«d emulsifiers and then adding water, it becomes quite difficult to obtain emulsions having the
same consistency each and every time. This factor leads to at time unsatisfactory processing of
the jute fibers and consequently to wastage and other losses to the manufacturer.
[008] The present invention seeks to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks of the
prior art. It provides a composition of eco-friendly oil for jute batching application which is PAH-free. It comprises of highly refined premium quality mineral base oil and tailor-made additives. It comes in a readily emulsifiable form. Only water is to be added to it to prepare the oil-in-water emulsion, which is to be sprayed on raw jute to provide adequate softening/lubricating properties to the jute fibers for smooth jute batching operation. The disclosed composition is non-toxic and bio-degradable with high bio-degradibility (>70%). It meets the requirements of ECO-Mark Scheme of India requirements.
[009] Indian Patent IN173586 discloses a composition for softening-cum-lubrication of
jute fibers as additive to jute batching oil (JBO) and emulsion of JBO including said composition
and method of softening-cum-lubrication of jute fibers with said emulsion. However, it does not
disclose a PAH-free composition, nor it is bio-degradable. It is also not non-toxic, as is the
composition of the present invention. The composition is also not readily emulsifiable.
[010] GB233403SB discloses a synergistic jute and/or allied fiber lubricating
composition for improvement in productivity in jute industry. Though this patent discloses a non-toxic and eco-friendly lubricating composition which has non-ionic emulsifiers similar to the present invention, it is not free from PAH and is also not bio-degradable.

[Oil] CN1114004C discloses a synergistic jute and/or allied fiber lubricating
composition for improvement of productivity in jute industry. It contains non-ionic emulsifier similar to the present invention, but is neither disclosed as free from PAH compounds, nor as bio-degradable. None of the related closest prior art therefore discloses any oil composition that is similar to the composition according to the present invention.
[012] Therefore the main aim of the invention is to provide a composition of oil for jute
batching which is free from PAH (poly aromatic hydrocarbon) and is therefore non-carcinogenic.
[013] Another aim of the invention is to provide a composition of oil which is bio-
degradable, hence eco-friendly.
[014] Yet another aim of the invention is to provide a composition of oil which results
in instant preparation of the emulsion with water. This eliminates the step of mixing the emulsifiers with the oil by the user making it user friendly.
[015] A further aim is to provide a non-toxic composition of oil for jute batching
application.
[016] Another aim is to provide a composition of oil for jute batching, which has
excellent wettability, spreading and penetration characteristics and also has excellent lubricity characteristics.
[017] A further aim is to provide an oil composition which has excellent oil coverage on
the jute fibers and retains the moisture for a longer period of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[018] Accordingly, the invention provides a composition of oil, which is specially
developed for the jute industry, particularly for jute batching application. The composition is free from harmful PAH compounds, hence is non-toxic in nature. It comprises of highly refined premium quality mineral base oil and carefully selected additives as emulsifiers, which are mixed to yield a readily emulsifiable product. It can be easily mixed with water for preparing oil-in-water emulsion which is sprayed on raw jute. The composition is bio-degradable, hence eco-friendly, and results in significantly lower oil consumption (>20%)as compared to existing oils. It contains non-ionic emulsifiers, is colourless and odourless and is suitable for producing good quality jute products. It is used for conditioning of raw jute to impart properties suitable for jute

batching and processing operations like carding, drawing, spinning, winding, weaving etc. Its excellent lubricity helps in reducing fiber losses and breakages during jute batching operations.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[019] The composition of eco-friendly oil for jute batching, in accordance with the
invention, is prepared by mixing highly refined mineral base oil with tailor-made additives (emulsifiers) suitable for jute processing application. It is a ready to use mix, and yields an oil-in water emulsion instantaneously just by mixing with water. This emulsion, when sprayed on raw jute, provides adequate softening / lubricating properties to jute fibers for smooth jute batching operation. It has a high bio-degradability (>70%) and meets the requirements of ECO-Mark Scheme of India. This oil is non-toxic, PAH-free and is suitable for producing high quality jute products.
[020] As mentioned earlier, according to the current practice in jute industry, the Jute
Batching Oil (JBO) must be procured from oil companies and the emulsifiers (additives) are required to be procured from other agencies. Both oil and emulsifiers are mixed together and then water is added to prepare the emulsion which is required for spraying on raw jute. The composition according to the present invention, therefore, is very user-friendly as it saves the step and the trouble of mixing the JBO with the additive emulsifiers, before mixing with water. The composition according to the invention is formulated with non-toxic, environment friendly emulsifiers and is in a condition ready for preparing an oil-in-water emulsion instantaneously, simply by mixing it with water. It provides consistent quality of emulsion and avoids the mixing of additives and oil at user's end. The emulsion provides adequate lubricity/ softening for a variety of jute fibers requiring different degree of fineness. This ensures lesser loss of jute fibers and helps the jute industry cut down on its operational cost.
The composition of oil according to the invention primarily addresses two major requirements of the jute industry. Firstly, it is PAH free, which makes it free from the carcinogenic ill-effects of jute batching oils of the prior art and making the safe jute products. Secondly, it removes the cumbersome operation of mixing the JBO with the emulsifiers at user's end. This saves time and therefore saves money.

[021] The composition of oil is prepared by mixing carefully selected additives, also
called emulsifiers, with a highly saturated hydrocarbon oil or mixture of highly saturated
hydrocarbon oil and white oil or white oil or mixture of highly saturated hydrocarbon oils and
vegetable oils or white oil and vegetable oils of viscosity 10-25 cSt, 95-98 wt%. The emulsifiers
comprise of 1.0 to 5.0 wt% of Oleyl/Cetyl alcohol polyglycol ether having 3.5 to 6.5 ethoxy
groups per carbon chain as a non-ionic emulsifier; and at least one other non-ionic emulsifier
selected from sorbitan monooleate, polyoxyethylene Sorbitan mono oleate and Polyoxyethylene
mono stearate which may be upto 2.0 wt%. This admixture is the invented composition of oil
intended for jute batching application. It is a homogeneous compound which is readily
emulsifiable. When mixed with water, it yields an oil-in-water emulsion, which is sprayed on
raw jute.
[022] Some of the salient properties are mentioned below.
1) It is free from PAH compounds, hence non-carcinogenic and safe product
2) It has high bio-degradability (>70%), hence eco-friendly.
3) It is non-toxic in nature
4) It provides excellent oil coverage on the jute fibers and helps in retaining moisture in jute fiber for a longer period of time.
5) Results in lower oil consumption (>20%) per Kg of Jute processed as compare to the conventional JBO.
6) It has excellent lubricity. Due to these characteristics there is less jute drop out hence less wastage per Kg of jute processed.
[023] The distinguishing features of the composition of oil according to the invention
and their advantageous are given below.

Table-1 Distinguishing features of composition of eco friendly oil for jute batching
application

[024] The key properties of composition of oil for jute batching in accordance with the
invention are its viscosity, emulsion stability, spreadability and wetting characteristics. Surface tension is another key property which determines proper and adequate penetration of the oil during jute batching operation for right softening of jute fibers. Light colour is a desirable property of the oil. It is also free from unpleasant smell, making it more user-friendly.

[025] The most advantageous properties of the oil for jute batching application are its
non-toxic nature, absence of harmful PAH compounds and high biodegradability. These characteristics are the significant differentiators from the existing jute batching oils. The main physico-chemical properties of the invented oil are given below.


WE CLAIM:
1. An eco-friendly PAH (Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbon) free jute-batching oil
composition comprises:
- a highly saturated hydrocarbon oil or mixture of highly saturated hydrocarbon oil and white oil or white oil or mixture of highly saturated hydrocarbon oils and vegetable oils or white oil and vegetable oils of viscosity 10-25 cSt, 95-98 wt%.
- a non-ionic ether based emulsifier having 3.5 to 6.5 ethoxy groups per carbon chain; and
- at least one additional non-ionic emulsifier selected from the group consisting of sorbitan monooleate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan mono oleate and polyoxyetbylene mono stearate upto 2.0 wt%;
wherein the oil composition is non-carcinogenic and has high degree of biodegradability.
2. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ether based non-ionic emulsifier is oleyl/cetyl alcohol polyglycol ether present in the range of 1.0 to 5.0 wt%.
3. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the composition has a biodegradability of more than 70%.
4. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claims 1 to 3, wherein the composition is readily emulsified to form instantaneously an oil-in-water emulsion which is easy to spray.

5. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein the composition when applied to raw jute, provides adequate lubricity and softening to jute fibers, gives excellent oil coverage on the jute fibers and results in lower consumption of the oil.
6. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claim 5, wherein the composition reduces consumption of oil by more than 20% as compared to conventional jute batching oils.
7. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claims 1 to 6, wherein the composition is non-toxic, is free from unpleasant smell and is colourless.
8. The jute-batching oil composition as claimed in claims 1 to 7, wherein the composition has excellent lubricity which results in less jute drop out and hence less wastage per Kg of jute processed.